Federalist No. 17

Federalist No. 17, authored by Alexander Hamilton under the pen name Publius, is the seventeenth of 85 essays. Titled "The Same Subject Continued: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union ", Hamilton discusses the possible growth of the general government at the expense of the state governments. He points out that the states are closer to the people, and it is proper for more powers to be exercised at that level.